So doing my gear oil, came shooting out when I removed he lower plug, looks like it was under pressure. It was suggested to me my breather valve may be clogged. Has anyone replaced this? I loosened it, looks like it would come off but want to order a replacement before I remove it. There's little clearance, is it enough space to remove it? Also, looking at the diagram (0029 F430 Spider USA) it calls for a bushing, but then lists the bushing as obsolete Any insights into all this greatly appreciated!!! My valve in the center of the pic Image Unavailable, Please Login Parts diagram 66/67 Image Unavailable, Please Login Parts list Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
that system is pressurized and need to crack the fill plug. You will hear it release pressure, then you can release the drain and avoid it shooting out.
Isn't the purpose of the breather/vent valve to eliminate pressure?. If fluid sprayed out when removing the drain plug before cracking open the fill plug id say there's a problem and the breather/ vent valve is plugged.....So to his question. Is there enough room above the valve to remove it.
Thank you @carguy007, your point is taken, but I think the level of pressure I experienced means there is minimal to no venting happening (as per @LorenzoR) Still wondering if anyone has removed this, will it come all the way out? or is there interference from the brace above it? Also, I gave Eurospares the VIN and they quoted me 197797 and 213860 which is not what I have in there now as there is no bushing. Anyway, if anyone has removed this and has any insights, greatly appreciated! Thank you as always
Already do your trans mount? Looks like that is right on top of it. Crow feet with 3/8" socket might be best.
hey @Sj_engr , yes the mount was done when the 6spd conversion was done fall 2020. I have no trouble loosening it, I can get to it ok with a 14mm open end (preferably a short one). I just didn't want to take it all the way out without having a replacement in hand and didn't want to order a replacement unless I know it will come all the way out. not to be overcautious, but screwing it up would disable the car, so was being extra careful. figured better to reach out to see if anyone else has done it first, if I get no responses, maybe I'll just order the parts and give it a go.
Besides the possible dust entry, if it is just a breather to release pressure/vacuum I don't see how removing it would disable the car.
I meant if I removed it, and something went wrong and I couldn't re-install it for whatever reason, e.g. it stripped, broke, etc. Like I said, just trying to be prepared.
Curious what the end outcome was here? When cracking the dipstick/fill plug, it sounded like the gearbox was under pressure (maybe vacuum, hard to tell) and released air while I unscrewed it. Is this actually normal per @carguy007's note?
I was still waiting to hear if anyone had removed theirs. Got word from another member with a low miles car that they removed theirs and had no pressure. So I'm thinking my breather is clogged So I'll be ordering a replacement, will let you know how it goes
Awesome. Let me know what you find out. I'm curious too if this is just a open passage with a cover to prevent dust getting in, or an actual valve (perhaps it vents outwards on pressure buildup, but closes under a vacumm as things cool off again in the transmission). Bit surprised how it would get clogged. Unless it's a ball valve like I describe above and the ball got stuck?
From what I've read, they are filled with material which allows it to breathe. The material gets soiled over time, hence constrained breathing.
Thanks Kent, I only see 197797 on the car, not the additional bushing from the plate, so just ordered and will give it a go. So no one else has replaced their breather?
Reason #47374 to get a gated shift - there’s tonnes of stuff in the way of the valve on F1 cars . I needed to do quite a bit of disassembly to get the heat shields out of the way. Finally got to the valve but can’t get enough leverage to crack it loose unfortunately (3” long stubby wrench) My car is a early build and doesn’t seem to have the bushing either. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I used a regular size open end to get it going, there's 1-2 in of movement, once it's moving, switch to stubby, then it goes pretty easily
Thanks. Cool I’ll try again later today. Were you able to get it all the way out? Curious if blowing air through it actually vents…
I got it finger loose just to see if I could, but then did not remove it since I did not have the replacement on hand I didn't want to mess around and screw it up
@colorfull well I managed to knock the top cap off of the valve (but still didn't get the actual valve out ). Luckily it just looks like it is a friction fit ontop and was able to press it back on. Basically from what I can see is there is a passage in the center, with a small spring. Air routes up and via some channels to the base of the cap. This leads me to believe that this is infact a one-way pressure relief valve. From what I could see (again limited), mine was spotless inside. What this also means is that the gearbox will stay under a vacumm after a warm up and cool down cycle. It also means it potentially could hold a bit of pressure until there is enough pressure to overcome the spring. Out of curiosity, when you opened the drain on your transmission, was it warm or cold at the time?
I was wondering that as well. When I did mine it was just a little bit warm and it let out a minimum amount of pressure when I opened up the fill plug. Maybe his was hot when he opened the plug.
@LorenzoR I'm wondering too if the air gush you heard (and I heard) was actually air ENTERING the gearbox (e.g. it was under vacuum). This would make sense if the valve really is one-way. That is, the first time after sealing it up the gearbox heats up and expels the excess air pressure. Once it cools down, no more air will re-enter and thus we end up with a slight vacumm. It's interesting to hear you too noticed air moving when you did it.
I don't really know but I know for certain air went one way or the other. If that part is called a breather Id assume air should go in or out. As I mentioned there was minimum amount of pressure when I removed the fill plug and my gear Box was just on the warm side so maybe with that said some pressure has been released through that valve as the gearbox was cooling down
https://www.mintor.com/archivioFiles/prodotti/14/TSS.pdf This shows better what I'm getting at. (Note the brand Mintor was what was stamped on the cover of my breather as well..)
So if I reddit correctly it says it opens When the gearbox reaches a certain amount of pressure. I thought maybe it was just open flow but apparently not
@tstuli thank you so much for all that information, extremely informative! And thank you @LorenzoR for the additional information to complete the picture. My gearbox was hot, I followed the manual • Run the engine propulsion system until it reaches its operating temperature. The fluid came shooting out which indicates pressure I ordered the new breather, don't see a downside to replacing Sounds like next time I will definitely loosen the plug and wait a while.!
